| Show Telegram Fiction I D DONT DON'T NT T MARRY THE MANBy MAN MANS By JEANNE BOWMAN Kathleen Gregory Red haired memI member member mem- mem I ber of oZ the Gregory clan goes west westI I Incognito to get a a. way right from S MacDonald for The Golden Girl mine S Donald MacDonald Young owner i of ot the rival mine The Stubborn Boy Instantly quarrels with Kathleen Kathieen Bridget Kat Kathleen's companion S Yesterday Kathleen learns that Old Balmy a a. Gregory shift boss Is the theS S only one In Neutrality who disregards the feud between the Gregorys and CHAPTER NINE Into Info the Mine Bridget was standing before the Gregory house talking to a large sandy-haired sandy man whom Kathleen disliked instantly Mr Smyth Kit-Smyth superintendent of the Gregory mine Bridget said 5 in presen presenting ng him Ive been talking talkIng talking talk talk- ing to him about renting the old Gregory place It seems s that's the only only- house available furnished or or unfurnished I believe Ill I'll be able to intercede intercede intercede inter inter- cede with the owners explained Smyth Kit smiling at Kathleen t allowed me to rent it be be- be fore Kathleen controlled d her eyebrows which sought to shoot up p in surprise surprise surprise sur sur- prise at a Gregory renting any personal personal personal per per- possession regardless of how little they cared for it Of course we couldn't pay the seventy five a month previously paid Bridget continued However However However How ever Mr Smyth Kit-Smyth said the owners owners owners own own- ers would consider consid r less Could we move in immediately immediate immediate- ly Kathleen hastened to ask S Smyth Kit-Smyth pleated his upper lip with thumb and forefinger then reached for his watch 11 o'clock here 1 o'clock in New York If I 1 wire immediately I 1 should have havethe havethe havethe the answer back by late afternoon Yes I believe you can Ill I'll send my houseboy up to help you air out and fire up In meantime why dont don't you young ladies lunch with me And Ill I'll take you down in the mine would you enjoy that Kathleen and Bridget gave eager I assent then hurried to the hotel Its too pat Bridget protested S as 5 they reached their room It doesn't- doesn't seem right that things should work into our hands like ike this Pat blurted Kathleen Don aId Bid is hi his name and he certainly isn't working into my hands Ive I've had another row with him Hes He's impossible Lets Let's talk about Kit- Kit Smyth what Smyth-what what did you think of him Mind if I reserve judgment asked Bridget I dont don't like to de depend depend depend de- de pend upon first impressions Well Veil I 1 do snapped Kathleen Ive noticed that laughed Bridget getting into a warm blue knit dress which turned her eyes to twin bits of mountain sky I Kathleen turning to Bridget Riley secretary ex-secretary of Angus Gregory Gregory Greg Greg- ory president of The Golden Girl Incorporated In her bel place checked herself Bridget had grown beau beths- It It was as though some dormant dormant dor dor- mant radiance had been awakened intensifying each charming feature No won wonder ler Ier Donald MacDonald had bad been fascinated Youve had a second impression of MacDonald how did you like him she he questioned abruptly Bridgets Bridget's eyes twinkled Having lived Jived with yoU yott for three weeks I 1 understand him perfectly You two are very much alike you know Alike exploded Kathleen S I Terrifying Speed Yes both autocrats charming to your friends and dependents hut but if you'll p pardon the phrase hell on you our cn enemies 00 Bridget Donahue Riley no one has ever dared talk to me the way you do I 1 dont don't know how or why I 1 take it ILI it IL itI I do Bridget swung a cape over her shoulders Its because youre you're inherently honest Down un under under under un- un der all of that quartz theres there's a ledge of pure gold in you Ive I've been talking talking talk- talk ing ng to Kit Smyth Im I'm all a quiver with Come on darling I 1 doubt if the he crown prince of The Golden cirl is accustomed to being kept waiting Crown prince chuckled Katheen Kathleen Kathleen Kath- Kath leen een and you said you didn't judge by first impressions S The road to The Golden Girl forked off the highway below Neutrality Neutrality Neu- Neu then wound down on the theother theother theother other side until it came out at a point nearly below the cliff which held the house she had bad come to call the house of hate Kathleen's first view of the mine brought with it renewed faith in the Gregorys The great gray she sheds s the he towering derricks the railroad siding with its train of ore cars all bespoke care upkeep and bustling activity Th The ore Smyth Kit-Smyth told them I is going down to the smelter We Wedo Wedo I do only the mining here I The superintendent was proud of his domain Each building glistened I with fresh paint The laboratory I w was s he said one of the best in the business the emergency hospital one of the most efficient and most seldom used We might as well go down now he ventured From a wardrobe room he brought forth yellow slickers and yellow hats resembling and when the girls had donned these led them themo to o the collar of the mine a great gaping japing hole which seemed filled with a a. rushing roaring noise The skip he explained Elevators Elevators Elevators Ele to you They are evidently passing in the shaft As he spoke one shot up towards them hem at such a speed that Kathleen Kathleen Kathleen Kath Kath- leen stepped back It looked like a mammoth express elevator to Kathleen and seemed to stop on two levels The lower opened onto a a I chute on the opposite opposite opposite op op- op- op side Ore cars were rolled out to release their burden to the waiting freight car below The upper cage opened towards them and two men in leather coats and miners miners' caps stepped out Muckers probably going to Ute the commissary Smyth Kit-Smyth explained and ushered the girls into the compartment com corn S I Better take my arm on this first trip he ha suggested Bridget complied but Kathleen set sether sether sether her heels sturdily This was her mine Shed She'd let no cage destroy her bel morale And then the earth gave way and with it daylight Down they shot at ata a terrifying speed Black walls gave way to splashes of light at regular intervals Stations elucidated Kit Every hundred feet Pump sta sta- You know we must keep pumping constantly to keep the drifts from flooding Angus l' l Kathleen might have counted 25 stations had she been concerned with anything other than keeping her breath in its accustomed place She knew she was suffocating She wanted terribly to reach out for the assurance of Smyths Smyth's arm aim am something more human than the he theiron theiron heiron iron bar she clutched She had on ca moment of ing fear as she visualized the walls of the shaft caving in imprisoning them cutting off the sky and the sunlight but principally the air for all time Air Air she ventured How does one one one- Pumps again answered the superintendent su su- su- su Ill show you the winch when we go topside again Air must be forced through at a terrific pressure to break the damp air the foul air Its It's poisonous Kathleen offered a prayer that nothing would happen to the pumps until she reached the surface again Relax ordered Kit Smyth Kathleen promptly stiffened and knew that her heels had come up through her ankles She found the cage had bad stopped with devastating abruptness For a moment she waited looking ahead Surely this was something Milton had dreamed about when he wrote Paradise Lost This queer low dark tunnel with its dots doti of yellow light gleaming fantastically along the floor The dots she learned were electric lights the gleam the tracks along which ran the ore cradles Again she refused Smyths Smyth's arm and stumbled along in his wake The men were lunching in inthe inthe inthe the tunnel just off the Kathleen noticed now that the walls and ceiling were heavily tim tim- This gave her some assurance assurance assurance assur assur- ance of safety until she realized how deep in the earth they were and how low many tons of rock lay above them And then they came into what Smyth Kit-Smyth called a kidney and she felt better This was an oval opening the c ceiling lost in darkness darkness dark ness the floor piled with muck Atthe Atthe At Atthe the tunnel end the muckers sat hunched over tin buckets one a little apart from the rest of the shift Smyth Kit-Smyth had said they were working this spot and Kathleen forgot forgot forgot for for- got everything else Scarcely aware of the he silent audience she she- moved close to a wall arid and scanned it clOse clOse- close close- ly Without a light playing on it it looked like nothing at all So this was a gold mine The Golden Girl the mine whose name had been bestowed upon her Where was the gold Hands clasped behind her back heels planted sturdily she stood thinking of what Bridget had bad said Wanting to laugh at the visions she had previously had of a great glowing glowing glowing glow glow- ing cave and miners chipping the gold off the walls in rocks And then she stiffened in alarm Angus The man who had bad sat apart was on his feet was coming towards towards' her ripping off his cap with one hand the other out out- stretched Oh Angus I 1 knew you'd come Ive I've been praying praying- With one swift motion Kathleen ripped off the r rubber hat and her curls curIs caught the gleam of a lamp revealed the femininity of her face Balmy Smyths Smyth's voice rang out in warning Continued Monday Copyright 1938 for The Telegram |
